 The
Culture of Common People- Takayama used to be the castle town which General Nagachika Kanamori
built on behalf of his master at the end of the Sengoku era when Hideyosi
Toyotomi ruled Japan. In the fifth year of the Genroku era(1692 A.D.),
however, Hida district came under the direct control of Tokugawa government,
and almost all samurai left Takayama. Since then, Takayama had flourished
as a town of civilians.
Therefore, the heritage in Takayama which can be seen today is not
one built by the Samurai class, but by common people.
A Typical Common House...The kusakabe
House- The Kusakabe family were successful merchants which thrived in
Takayama, particularly during the reign of the Tokugawa clan.
The Kusakabe's store was called "Taniya," and it basically
lent money to the public office. Later the Kusakabe family also ran
Taniya as an exchange house during the fifth year of the Kaei era(1852
AD).
In the eighth year of Meiji(1875 AD), Taniya burned down, and the
present house was completely rebuilt four years later(in 1879 AD).
The leader of the carpenters who rebuilt the house, Jisuke Kawashiri,
was an expert at the time. He devoted all his skill to the reconstruction
and built an excellent house using the architecture of the Edo period.
The Kusakabe house has many characteristics of Edo architecture :
the main part of the building has two-stories and a stairwell, all
made of Japanese Cypress(Hinoki); the combination of beams and pillars
leads a strong construction: the roof slants slightly with moderate
eaves; the window has several slender latticeworks(Koushi); it is
finished with a dark-brown paint made from soot. In addition, there
are two warehouses made of mud and soil.
In the forty-first year of Showa (1966 AD), the Kusakabe house was
designated as a national important cultural asset, because it is a
prime example of Meiji era architecture. Since then, it has been open
to the public as a folkcraft Museum.
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